Party of Five
by lifesizehysteria
Summary: A collection of one-shots set between the time that the twins were first placed with the family and the start of the show. Watch them all grow into a family, set through the eyes of Stef and Lena as they raise their newly expanded family together. This fic exists within the timeline given in the pilot - Brandon is nine and the twins are seven at the time of their placement.
1. Wish Upon a Star

"Alright. Everybody got their backpacks?" Stef asked, her hands on her hips as she surveilled her family. Lena stood to her left, a blanket rolled and tucked under one arm and a lantern dangling by her side. The three kids, standing at attention in a line before her, nodded, tugging at the straps that hung over their shoulders. Smiles were plastered on each of their faces and they were practically vibrating with excitement. "And everyone's been bug sprayed?" They all nodded again. "And no one needs to go to the bathroom?" Their heads shook in unison. "Good." Satisfied, Stef nodded as she slung what was normally their beach bag over her shoulder. It was currently filled with various items they would need for the evening. She held another lantern in her left hand. "Everybody follow me. Watch your step as it gets dark. We've got just a little bit of a walk."

Stef made a sharp turn to the right and led the way. Ushered ahead by Lena, the kids followed their mom as Lena took up the rear behind them. Not a single complaint was uttered during the trek. They were on the outskirts of their favorite campground, though they weren't camping. It had taken enough convincing to get Lena to agree to just a couple of hours.

* * *

 _"No. It's a school night, Stef."_

 _"I know, but Lena, this isn't something you get to see every day. They can miss one day of school."_

 _Lena shook her head. "The twins are just starting to catch up. They're not missing school unless they're sick. We can watch it from here."_

 _"It's not the same. You can barely see the sky out here. C'mon, Lena," Stef pleaded. When Lena had already started shaking her head, Stef changed tactics. "It'll be educational. We can teach them about stars and planets. My dad showed me how to find a bunch of constellations when we used to camp. They'll love that." Lena's lips had begun to purse, a sign of her weakening resolve. Stef took a step closer and took hold of her hands. Her voice grew softer as she tilted Lena her most imploring look. "Please, love. My favorite memories as a kid were going camping with my dad and falling asleep while stargazing. I want that for them, too."_

 _Lena tilted her chin down and fought to hold back a smile. Stef's mouth twitched with hope at the corners and finally Lena's smile broke through._

 _"Okay," she relented with reluctance._

 _Glee spread across Stef's face._

 _"We are_ not _staying over night."_

 _"Okay! That's fine!" Stef rushed to agree before planting a kiss on Lena's lips. "We'll just go for a few hours."_

 _"As soon as they start getting tired, we're coming home." Lena's tone left no room for argument and Stef didn't even try._

 _"Absolutely! Of course!" Stef kissed her again, this time wrapping her arms around her waist and pulling her in close. "Thank you," she whispered._

 _"You're welcome," Lena said against her lips. "Now go tell them before I change my mind."_

 _Stef kissed the corner of her mouth, flashed her a giddy smile, and swept out of the room in search of their children._

* * *

The sky was a murky purple, dusk settling down into night as they reached the grassy spot.

"Is this it?" Brandon asked when Stef stopped to look up at the sky.

"Yep. This is it."

"Yes!" Brandon clapped his hands together as Jesús whooped. Mariana looked up at the sky with her hand at her brow as though shielding herself from the sunless sky.

"I don't see anything 'cept regular stars."

"That's because it hasn't started yet, sweets." Stef smiled at her as the little girl's lips formed a silent oh.

"Mariana, why don't you help me spread out the blanket." Lena started unrolling the large red plaid blanket. She and Mariana set to work while Stef ordered the boys to get water bottles out for everyone and to pick the snack of their choice. Stef unpacked the beach bag, setting out another lighter weight blanket, three sets of binoculars, and two flashlights on the far edge of the blanket beside the pile of water bottles. The boys were already perched in the center and Brandon immediately snatched up a pair of binoculars. Jesús followed suit.

"I think mine are broken. I can't see anything."

"You gotta take off the caps, dummy!"

A reprimand was on the tip of Stef's tongue but the boys were both giggling while Brandon showed Jesús how to take them off so Stef shook her head and held her tongue.

"Teddy grahams, baby?" Stef offered the snack bag of cookies to Mariana who took them without hesitation. They were her favorite. "Lena, want anything love?"

Lena shook her head as she sat down on the blanket just behind the boys. Mariana climbed into her lap and Lena wrapped her arms around her middle, resting her chin on her shoulder so they were cheek to cheek.

While last of the sunlight faded beneath the horizon, their eyes had adjusted to the moonlight. Still, Stef turned on the two lanterns to their lowest settings and placed them at a distance behind them. Then she settled cross-legged beside Lena, their shoulders touching.

"When's it gonna start?" Jesús asked as he looked up at the stars through the wrong side of the binoculars.

"We should start seeing them anytime." Stef nudged him with her foot. "You know, those work a lot better if you turn them around."

"I know," he said simply but continued on as he was. Stef looked at Lena and they both laughed at his silliness.

"Are we really gonna see lotsa shooting stars?" Mariana asked.

"Mhmm." Lena nodded.

Mariana looked up at her. "Can we wish on all of them?"

Lena smiled down at her, her dark eyes sparkling in the moonlight. "Sure you can."

Mariana's face was bright with wonder.

"What are you going to wish for?" Stef asked her.

"She can't tell you, mom!" Brandon turned back to her, indignant at her obliviousness. "Or it won't come true!"

Stef put her hands up. "Okay! Sorry!" She snorted and rolled her eyes.

"I'm gonna wish for a new scooter!" Jesús announced.

"Well now it's never gonna come true!" Brandon told him. When Jesús just shrugged his shoulder, Brandon scoffed and shook his head in disbelief.

Stef picked up the last pair of binoculars and looked up at the stars. Even without them, they could see so much more out here than they ever could at home. While they waited, she pointed out Orion's Belt, leaning over to let Mariana look down the length of her arm as she pointed when the little girl couldn't find it. She showed them the Big and Little Dippers and a couple other constellations. Then the kids started finding their own shapes in the stars and Stef leaned against Lena's shoulder, her arm settling around her hips.

"I saw one!" Brandon shouted. "Right there!" He waved his arm, pointing toward the sky. "Moms, did you see it?"

The other kids were suddenly on alert. The whole family turned their eyes up to the sky. A bubble of anticipation enclosed around them as they all held their breath. Just when Stef could feel the antsy energy coming from Jesús, ready to burst the moment, a silver streak flew across the sky. The kids all gasped as they watched it's tail disappear.

"That was so cool!" Jesús exclaimed as he gazed up through his binoculars — the right way this time.

"It's so beautiful." Mariana spoke with wistful enchantment.

"C'mere boys. Let's lay down." Stef waved them over and they clambered over, joining Mariana who was already settling in between Stef and Lena. She tossed the lighter blanket over the top of them all and Lena helped spread it out before they all nestled down to stare at the glittering sky.

Another light streaked across the sky then faded and the children all tried to point it out at the same time. Then another, followed by two more just moments later. As they rolled across the sky one after another, a hush fell over them. The meteor shower was in full swing and they were all swept up in the magic and wonder of the universe.

By the time the number of meteors slowed to a trickle, the sound of slow breathing came in a chorus from the three little stargazers. Stef turned onto her side and caught Lena's eye, smiling at her in the dark. As if reading each other's minds, they carefully dislodged themselves from around their children and stood up.

They worked with easy efficiency. Packing everything back into bags and backpacks as silently as possible. When everything was packed but the blankets, before they had to start rousing the children, Stef caught Lena's hand and led her a little bit away.

"Thank you." She squeezed Lena's hand as she guided her in against her.

"I'm glad we came." Lena curled her arms around Stef's neck.

"Me, too." And she really was. She had gotten to share something with her kids that had been so important to her growing up. Something that made her feel like she belonged in the universe — that proved that her existence, however small, mattered. She hoped they knew how much they mattered, too.

Stef looked into the eyes of the women she loved most in the world, who loved her in spite of every one of her flaws. She never understood why but she didn't dwell on it now. She just took her face in her hands and kissed Lena with gentle lips because it was the only way she knew how to show her how much she mattered. They kept the embrace light, relishing in the romance of kissing beneath the falling stars.

"What did you wish for?" Lena asked when they stood with their eyes closed and foreheads touching.

"I didn't," Stef admitted.

"Really? Not for anything?" Lena pulled back to look at her.

Stef shook her head, a grin pulling her lips to one side. "I didn't need to. All of my wishes have already come true."


	2. Count on It

"C'mon, Mama!"

"Yeah, c'mon! It's gonna be fun!"

"Please, Mama?"

The three kids put on their most convincing performance, complete with big puppy-dog eyes and hands clasped beneath their chins. Jesús had even resorted to trying to tug her out of her chair by her arm.

"Yeah, Mama," Stef teased as she walked by, a small arsenal of Super Soakers in her arms. "Don't be such a party pooper." Setting the toys down on the table, she raised her eyebrows at Lena in challenge but Lena simply slid her sunglasses on and rested her head back against chaise lounge chair, unaffected by the lot of them.

"Uh, uh. You guys always gang up on me so you can play without me. Call me what you will, I'm staying right here."

"Come on, guys," Brandon sighed as he grabbed one of the water guns from the table. "She's never gonna come." The disappointment in his voice was almost enough to change her mind. Almost, but not quite.

Mariana and Jesús both hesitated before grabbing their weapons from the pile on the table and following their brother into the yard. Stef picked up one of the two remaining water guns and stood square in front of Lena with her feet braced apart.

"What?" Lena finally said when the silence dragged on.

Stef pumped the gun a couple of times.

"Don't think you're safe all the way over here. I'm a good shot."

Lena's eyebrows rose over the edge of her sunglasses. "If I get hit with so much as a _drop_ of water, you're gonna to pay for it."

When Stef swept a slow gaze over her, Lena's stomach tightened.

"That's what I'm counting on, sweetheart." A smirk tilted Stef's lips but Lena refused to give her even a hint of satisfaction with a reaction.

Stef pumped her Super Soaker one more time before turning and striding into the yard.

"Okay, my babies! Let's go!"

They all scattered around the yard and when all four were hidden, Stef gave her whistle to start the game.

Lena watched her family stalk each other around the backyard. The high summer sun was almost oppressively hot but even as a layer of sweat started to bead on her skin, she was more than content letting the rays soak all the way into her bones. Stef liked to tease that she was part lizard; cold-blooded because even in the summer her hands were always cold. As she laid in sun, basking in the heat like an iguana on a desert rock, she thought maybe Stef was right because nothing could beat this feeling.

She closed her eyes and eventually the gleeful sounds of her kids squealing and laughing faded into the distance. Sleep tugged at her and she was just about to surrender when a shocking cold hit her square in the chest. Shrieking, her heart pounded as the cold water seeped into her shirt and down into her lap.

"Stef!" she yelled, sitting up and trying to wipe off some of the water. Her partner was standing by the garage, her Super Soaker still aimed right at her. The kids, all dripping wet, were buckled over with laughter.

"I told you I was a good shot."

The cocky grin on her face was almost enough to get her up but Lena fought the urge. She knew what Stef wanted and she wasn't going to give in.

"It's fine. You know, I needed to cool down anyway so thanks, babe." Leaning back, she made a show of kicking her feet back up onto the lounger, crossing them at the ankles. She readjusted her sunglasses, then crossed her arms behind her head as she leaned back against the chair.

"Happy to help," Stef called back. They stared each other down and the sound of laughter faded as the kids looked back and forth between them. Lena didn't move when Stef pumped the gun a couple times, calling her bluff. Surely she was smarter than that.

Stef fired. Lena tried to dodge it but gasped when the icy water hit her shoulder. The children were laughing again but when her partner's familiar belly laugh joined them, all bets were off. Lena jumped from the chair and grabbed the remaining water gun from the table.

"You better start running for your life, woman," she yelled, pumping the gun, "because if I catch you, you're dead!"

The kids' laughter turned to squeals and they scattered as Lena took after Stef who had already turned tail and was heading for the back of the garage. They all knew better than to get in her way. They knew how she could get when goaded by their mom.

Lena chased Stef around the garage, trying to hit her but coming up short.

"C'mon, love! You can do better than that!" Stef taunted over her shoulder as she darted in the other direction, taking cover behind a tree.

While Lena circled the tree, Stef pressed her back against it, keeping it between them, her gun at the ready. Lena changed direction but Stef was ready for her and hit her with another stream of water before she had a chance to strike. Her howling laugh filled the backyard before she dodged Stef's second shot. Lena fired back, hitting the tree trunk as Stef ducked and darted away from the tree.

They shot back and forth as Lena chased Stef around the yard. But even while having to shoot behind her, Stef was still the better shot, making Lena yell with every hit.

"We're coming, Mama!" Jesús called as he ran across the yard, water gun aimed at Stef.

"Yeah we're coming!"

"Hey! You guys are supposed to be on my team, here!" Stef was backing away from them as the three kids approached to take up rank beside Lena.

"We're on Mama's team now," Mariana said. All three kids pumped their Super Soakers while Stef continued to walk backwards.

"That's not fair! Four against one? C'mon! Brandon. You wanna be on my team, don't you? Make things a little more fair?"

Brandon hesitated. Stef was appealing to his strong sense of fairness but Lena wasn't above playing dirty.

"That's fine if you want to go on Mom's team, Brandon. But I'm taking _my_ team out for ice cream later."

"I'm on Mama's team!" Brandon declared, his gun already aiming at Stef.

Lena smirked at Stef while Stef gaped at them all.

"How dare you turn my own children against me! You're all traitors!" She was still walking backwards.

Lena shrugged and pumped the handle of her gun a few times.

"Guess I'll just have to take you all down then!" she yelled as she aimed and pulled the trigger. A pitiful stream of water trickled out and the kids burst out laughing. Lena's smile grew wicked as Stef pumped her gun again, pulled the trigger, and nothing happened.

" _Crap_."

"Get her!" As Lena gave the command, Stef dropped her gun and turned to run at the same time but she was backed against the side of the garage. Lena cackled as they took aim and fired. Trapped, Stef tucked her head behind her arms and curled against the onslaught. Shouts and whoops of laughter rang through the yard until the kids' guns each ran out of water.

"Okay, okay!" Stef pleaded but Lena wasn't ready to quit. She'd had a late start which meant she had a lot more water left. And victory felt so good. "Lena! Truce! I call a truce! Please!" Stef was gasping for breath between bouts of laughter when Lena finally relented.

"That was awesome, Mama!" Jesús said as he came in for a high five.

"Yeah! I always wanna be on your team!" Brandon announced. Lena and the kids exchanged high fives while Stef, drenched from head to toe, shook water from her limbs and tried to wring out her shirt.

"I think it's a lost cause, babe," Lena teased.

Stef glared at her before a grin turned up the corners of her mouth. She bounded toward Lena with her arms outstretched but stopped in her tracks when Lena aimed her Super Soaker at her.

"Don't even think about it!" She pumped the handle a couple times.

"You wouldn't," Stef challenged, staring her down.

"Don't test me." Eyes narrowed on her partner, her eyebrows arched in warning, Lena called over her shoulder to the kids, "Go get the towels from the porch."

Tension grew between them as they held their positions.

"I can't believe you bribed our kids to turn them against me. I thought you were above playing dirty." Stef chanced a step forward.

"Just giving you a taste of your own medicine." Lena shrugged, gripping her weapon a little tighter.

"Bribery's illegal, you know?" She took another step forward and Lena held her ground.

"Then arrest me." A suggestive note threaded into Lena's voice, a smirk curling the corners of her mouth.

"I just might." Stef's voice dropped down to her chest and she took a few steps closer.

"Keep walking and you're gonna see just how dirty I can play."

Stef gasped, her eyes gleaming. "I think I like the sound of that."

Lena tilted her chin up, her eyebrows arching high in challenge. "You don't believe me, do you?"

Lena waited and finally Stef took another slow step forward, closing most of the distance between them as a smile played on her lips. The barrel of Lena's gun pressing against her abs kept them slightly apart.

Lena's breath grew shallow beneath Stef's gaze. Water dripped down onto her chest and down her shirt from Stef's hair. When Stef took her face into her hands, Lena tilted her chin up as she let the toy droop between them and Stef leaned forward. Her body hummed with Stef's so close, her heart beating in her throat.

Stef's lips were just grazing hers when she whispered, "I warned you."

Stef hesitated in confusion and Lena stepped back out of her grasp, aimed her gun and pulled the trigger.

"LENA!" Stef shrieked, stumbling backwards then falling to the ground. A maniacal grin was plastered on Lena's face as she pummeled her helpless partner with water while Stef tried to crawl backwards on the slippery grass. This time, Lena didn't stop until her tank ran dry.

Lena couldn't help but laugh. Poor Stef, lying flat on her back, covered in grass and dripping wet, sputtered and wiped the wet strings of hair out of her face.

"Okay, okay," Lena said through her giggles. "Truce this time. I promise." She dropped the useless weapon on the ground and held her out her hand.

Stef took the offered hand then tugged her down, making Lena yell in surprise as she tumbled on top of her. She landed with an _oof_ before Stef wrapped her arms around her waist, both of them laughing.

"You're gonna pay for this, you know," Stef said. It wasn't a threat but a promise.

Water seeped into the front of her clothes as she looked down into Stef's smiling eyes, their laughter fading. She smelled of sweat and grass and sunscreen. Beads of water glistened on her forehead, in the corners of her mouth, on her eyelashes. Her cheeks were flushed and Lena could feel her labored breathing beneath her. She was sure she'd never seen Stef look more beautiful.

Her gaze settled on Stef's lips, parted and alluring. She moved to capture them but just before their lips met, her mouth turned up in a cocky grin and she whispered, "That's what I'm counting on, sweetheart."


	3. United We Stand

_A/N: This is the haunted house story that precedes the flashback in The Night Before Christmas. It was cut from that fic because it didn't feel necessary but I'd written it wanted to share it. So I held onto it until I was able to tweak it into a full, standalone one-shot._

* * *

"Look, look!" Brandon pulled at Stef's hand and pointed through the rows of white tents and food carts, toward a haunted house on the other side of Fall Fest. "Can we go? Please, please, please?" Brandon danced before his moms, his hands folded under his chin as he begged.

"Maybe not today, B," Lena said.

Brandon's face was already forming a pout. "Why not?"

Lena looked down at the two children who stood between her and her partner. She couldn't see how this could possibly be a good idea. They'd only been fostering the twins for a few months but the alarm bells sounding in her head made her very wary about how either of them would handle a haunted house. A shared glance over their heads told Lena that she and Stef were on the same page.

Stef turned to Brandon. "I think maybe it's a little too scary, bub."

"I'm not scared!" their son declared and puffed out his chest.

"You're not the only one here," Stef reminded him. Brandon was still adjusting to having siblings and he wasn't always good about considering their feelings.

"Well, if they're scared, can't you just take me by myself?" he complained with a scowl.

"Brandon," Stef warned.

"I wanna go too! I'm not scared!" Jesús piped up, breaking from beside his sister to join Brandon.

Lena looked at Stef again, trying desperately to communicate through near imperceptible facial expressions and telepathy.

Finally, Stef shrugged. "I guess, if you both really want to go, I can take the two of you through the haunted house." Lena cleared her throat and looked to the ground to stifle her shock. Clearly the telepathy had not worked. "Mariana and Mama can meet us at the end." When Stef looked to Lena for agreement on the compromise, there was a _No_ on the tip of her tongue but Mariana broke in first.

"If they're going, I'm going, too," her little voice chirped.

Lena touched the girl's shoulder. "You don't have to go, sweetheart. It's okay."

When Mariana looked up at her, determination flashed in her eyes. "I want to. I'm not scared." With her chin jutting in the air, she marched over to take up rank next to Jesús.

The three stood in a line of protest — defiant and unmoving, demanding their right to be scared out of their minds.

Stef threw her arms out to the side in surrender. "Okay. If you insist."

The boys whooped with delight while Mariana's face paled.

"Last one there's a rotten egg!" Brandon slugged Jesús on the arm to give himself a head start as the boys took off in the direction of the attraction.

"Hey, wait for me!" Mariana called and ran after them, her fear forgotten at the threat of being the rotten egg.

Stef looked helplessly at Lena.

"I guess we're all going," she said with far more amusement than Lena felt. When they looked back in the direction of the kids, they were already alarmingly far ahead. "Hey, hey! Slow down! No running!" Stef called out a warning as she followed them in a brisk jog, leaving Lena standing alone.

"I guess we are," Lena said to herself before trudging in the direction of her family who were all barreling toward this terrible, terrible idea.

By the time Lena caught up to her brood, Stef had managed to wrangle the boys as much as one can contain a whirlwind. At least they were no more than a few feet in front with Mariana lagging behind them and Stef bringing up the rear. The boys were trying to one-up each other with the possible horrors that awaited them in the haunted house. They had quite the imaginations and as each new suggestion was more gory and detailed than the last, the distance between them and Mariana continued to grow.

"I can't believe you agreed to this," Lena hissed as she came up beside her partner. She walked with her arms crossed tight over her stomach.

"I'm sorry, love," Stef whispered back. "How was I supposed to know she'd want to go?"

"She _doesn't_ want to go," Lena scoffed, shaking her head, wondering how Stef couldn't see that. "She just doesn't want to be left out. And even if she did, I don't think a haunted house is a good idea."

"Okay, sure, maybe it's not ideal but I don't think it'll be that bad. We went with Brandon last year."

"Yeah, Stef, and he ended up sleeping in our bed for a week."

"Sure but look at him now." She gestured toward him as he pretended to projectile vomit while Jesús was doubled over in a full belly laugh. "It obviously didn't traumatize him or he wouldn't be dying to go this year."

"Brandon has had a very different life than Mariana and Jesús have," Lena stated, her tone bordering on condescension. They may not have been fostering the twins for very long but Lena already knew that Mariana, though courageous in the truest sense of the word, was a highly sensitive soul. She was such a clever girl with a keen imagination and some very deep-seated insecurities that her short yet troubled life had given her. That coupled with an environment meant to elicit fear was a recipe for disaster. And Lena wasn't too eager for Jesús to go through, either.

"I am aware of that, Lena," Stef replied, her words terse in defense.

Lena softened. "I just don't want to put them through anything that's…" She paused, searching for the right words. "They've finally started to feel safe with us and I don't want to undo that."

"Neither do I. But sweetheart, as much as we want to, we can't protect them from the whole world and trying to is just going to end up hurting them more in the end. We have choose when to protect them and when to give them the space and the agency to make mistakes. If that means we deal with a week of nightmares, then we'll deal with it."

Lena exhaled and let her arms fall to her sides. She knew that if their roles had been reversed, she would have told Stef exactly the same thing.

"So you do listen to me sometimes," she teased, moving closer to slide her hand into Stef's, their fingers lacing together.

Stef gave a nonchalant shrug, a smug glint in her eye. "Sometimes."

Lena shook her head, her face alight with laughter. "Do I sound that pretentious when I say things like that?"

"I plead the fifth." Stef winked and nudged Lena with her shoulder.

The two women closed the distance between themselves and the kids as they approached the line for the attraction. The boys were still going with the graphic predictions as they queued up to wait their turn.

"Boys." The single word was a stern warning from Stef.

Jesús dropped the conversation without question, hanging his head a little, but Brandon looked at her, affronted. " _What, Mom_?"

"That's enough." Noting her seriousness, he huffed but relented as he turned away.

"There are lots of other kids around and we don't want to scare them," Lena clarified. After the explanation, Jesús' head perked up. He had a real tendency to lay blame on himself for any and all minor behavioral corrections. Since noticing, Lena had been making a conscious effort to offer more explanations along with corrections and so far she had noticed quite an improvement.

The line moved at a steady pace. Groups were being let in about three minutes apart. The three children were involved in a game of I Spy, which kept them occupied as they waited. Lena and Stef stood behind them, touching at the shoulders and sharing snippets of conversation between lengths of easy silence. As they neared the front of the line, the sounds from inside the house began to reach them. Squeals and shrieks drifted out of the makeshift building and with each one, Mariana looked more apprehensive. By the time the family before them entered, the little girl's back was rigid and her hands were balled in tight fists by her sides.

Lena nudged Stef with her elbow, nodding her head in the direction of their foster daughter.

"You alright, sweet pea?" Stef asked. Mariana jumped at the question but turned her head over her shoulder and nodded, her black ponytail rippling down her back.

In the presence of Mariana's trepidation, the family grew quiet during the rest of their wait. Lena chewed the inside of her lip. She wanted so badly to yank her out of the line for her own sake. As if she could read Lena's mind, Stef's hand slipped into hers, affording her strength with a gentle squeeze. If only that telepathy had been working earlier; they wouldn't be here now.

"Okay, folks. You're up." The gentleman working the attraction beckoned them forward. He rattled off his script like a seasoned flight attendant. "Remember, keep your hands to yourselves; no touching, no running, and certainly no hitting. You're here for thrills, they're here for bills; the monsters are people, too. Have fun and happy screams." He waved them toward the entrance and the two women held their breath, waiting for Mariana to move. She didn't.

"C'mon, Mariana," Brandon urged. He was inching closer to the entrance, impatient after waiting in line so long.

Mariana's feet had taken root in the grass.

When the host looked expectantly from her to the two women, Lena offered an apologetic wave. "Sorry. Just give us a minute."

"Can I let the next group go?"

"Of course. Thank you," she said as she knelt down on one knee beside Mariana. "It's okay if you're scared."

"I'm not scared." Her quiet voice trembled, giving herself away.

"You know, I get scared too, sometimes. Especially when I don't know what to expect."

The girl's brown eyes were bright with worry and curiosity as she looked at Lena. "You do?"

"Yeah. All the time."

Mariana fidgeted with the hem of her shirt. "Are you scared now?"

Lena nodded. "A little bit." Of course, it wasn't the haunted house itself that scared her but she kept that detail to herself. "Are you?"

The girl's eyes dropped to the ground and she hesitated before nodding her head.

Jesús took his sister's hand before Lena had a chance to speak again.

"If you're scared, we don't have to go." His disappointment was obvious when he looked with longing at the dark entrance in front of them but his jaw was set with certainty. Lena felt a tightness around her heart at the touching gesture. He was alway so willing to sacrifice for his sister.

"Yeah, it's okay if you don't wanna go." Brandon stepped in front of them, facing Mariana with his hands on his hips. "It's just a lame haunted house. It's probably not even good." Pride swelled in Lena's chest at her son's sudden change of heart and she shared a quick look with Stef who seemed just as surprised as Lena. Maybe he really was getting a hang of this big brother thing.

Mariana looked between Brandon and her brother, her mouth pursing as she considered his offer. Finally, she shook her head.

"I wanna go. I won't be scared if you guys are with me," she said and reached for Brandon's hand. United, the three turned toward the haunted house, their hands linked while they waited for their turn. Lena shared a look of love and pride with Stef as she returned to her side. She took her hand and squeezed it gently, grateful despite herself that Stef had agreed to this terrible, wonderful idea.


End file.
